A still from an online video clip that promoted the Da Nang International Lighting and Visual Art Contest, which was scheduled on April 30 but canceled last week

Many businesses in the central city of Da Nang complained that they were suffering losses, as the municipal authorities called off an international lighting contest on short notice.

An unnamed leader of B Plus Communications Company, which organized the Da Nang International Lighting and Visual Art Contest (DILVAC), told Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborers) newspaper that his company would possibly lose hundreds of millions of dong in compensation.

He said the company “did not know what to do” to mitigate the losses, but begged its partners to lower compensation costs for terminating contracts, as the cancellation was announced just a few days before the event’s scheduled opening.

Meanwhile, Dinh Van Loc, director of Viet Da Travel Company, said many tourists who booked tours to Da Nang for the upcoming national holiday from April 30 to May 4 mainly due to the event have canceled their booking, following the city government’s announcement.

Many other hotels and travel companies in the city reported the similar situation, complaining about their losses, according to the news report.

Last year Da Nang’s authorities allowed B Plus to hold DILVAC this April 30 with a series of events like a lighting contest among four-five Vietnamese and foreign teams, a dinner gala, and an art lighting exhibition.

The event was planned to be held biennially from this year.

However, last week Da Nang People’s Committee announced that they decided to cancel DILVAC, citing “external reasons,” the newspaper reported.

Nguyen Xuan Anh, deputy secretary of Da Nang’s Party unit, was quoted as saying that they canceled the event in order to save resources for a firework festival to be held next year to celebrate the city’s 40th independence anniversary.

But, according to B Plus, expenses for DILVAC this year purely came from the private sector’s contribution, including a telecommunication company with a package of VND20 billion (US$944,000).